The Storybook of Legends (book)
The Storybook of Legends is the first book of the ''Ever After High'' book series, written by Shannon Hale. It was released on October 08, 2013. __TOC__ Plot At Ever After High, an enchanting boarding school, the children of fairytale legends prepare themselves to fulfill their destinies as the next generation of Snow Whites, Prince Charmings and Evil Queens...whether they want to or not. Each year on Legacy Day, students sign the Storybook of Legends to seal their scripted fates. For generations, the Village of Book End has whispered that refusing to sign means The End-both for a story and for a life. As the daughter of the Evil Queen, Raven Queen's destiny is to follow in her mother's wicked footsteps, but evil is so not Raven's style. She's starting to wonder, what if she rewrote her own story? The royal Apple White, daughter of the Fairest of Them All, has a happy ever after planned for herself, but it depends upon Raven feeding her a poison apple in their future. What if Raven doesn't sign the Storybook of Legends? It could mean a happily never after for them both. ;A Very Short Prologue It’s Legacy Day at Ever After High; the day when second year students sign the Storybook of Legends and become magically bound to their parents’ fairy tales. Among the pledging class are the future Tom Thumb, future fairy godmother to Cinderella, and a future witch. Two first year students watch carefully. One is eager for her time to sign, but the other dreads her moment. ;Chapter 1: Never Touch the Mirror ;Chapter 2: Simply, Unquestionably Perfect ;Chapter 3: Always Doing Is How It's UnDone On the first day of school at Ever After High, second-year student Raven Queen arrives by Travel Mirror. She asks the Three little pigs for assistance with her trunk, but they run away in terror. Her reputation as the daughter of the Evil Queen precedes her, which frustrates her. She levitates her trunk to her dormitory, where to her delight, she will be living with her best friend, Madeline Hatter. As Raven is unpacking, Apple White visits to welcome her back to school on behalf of the Royal Student Council. Raven feels somewhat self-conscious and awkward due to their shared fairy tale, but they have a pleasant chat until Briar Beauty whisks Apple away. Suddenly, Madeline appears in the room by tumbling through a wall. Raven helps her with her things and the two have a tea party while playing a game of “If I Didn’t.” ;Chapter 4: Maddie's Chat with the Voice Narrator Maddie converses with “The Voice” for the first time, asking who it is. The narrator introduces itself simply as the Narrator. Maddie says that she enjoys the helpful information the Narrator gives and that she will continue to listen to its observations. ;Chapter 5: That Dangerous Word Raven, Maddie, and Cedar Wood are eating stone soup in the Castleteria when fairy-godmothers-in-training poof into the room and hand out class schedules. Raven does not receive hers because the fairy-godmother who had it disappeared in fright. Raven asks Cedar if people are becoming more afraid of her, knowing that she will get an honest answer from her. Cedar admits that it appears that way, and that people are starting to see each other as who they will become. Raven heads out to visit her advisor, Baba Yaga, to get her schedule. It takes her awhile to find and then chase her office down, but eventually Raven climbs into the cottage on chicken legs. When she explains to Baba Yaga why she didn’t get her schedule, and that she didn’t mean to scare the fairy-godmother, Baba Yaga sprays her with water as a correction. Raven is disappointed with her schedule and asks if she could at least take Muse-ic, but Baba Yaga is shocked silent when Raven discusses “choice.” She sprays her with water again, warning Raven that she will not get away with that with Headmaster Grimm, but adds Muse-ic to her schedule anyway. On her way to her dorm, Milton Grimm calls Raven into his office. He asks her about her yearly chat with her mother. No one knows that the Evil Queen is still alive except for the Headmaster, the Good King, Gepetto, and Baba Yaga. He wants to make sure it is still a secret, and that Raven hadn’t tried to free her. He asks to see her schedule and admonishes her for taking Muse-ic, a class only for Happily-Ever-After princesses, and then removes it. Raven asks him about her destiny, and whether she is supposed to be Snow White’s Evil Queen, as her grandmother and all previous ancestors were, or if she is to be the dangerously off-script super villain her mother was. Milton is angry, interpreting her questions as a dismissal of his authority. When he calms down, he only answers that she must play her part. Raven nods and quietly leaves his office, when she hears music and follows it to the Muse-ic room. She finds Sparrow Hood and the Merry Men using the empty room for band practice. Sparrow instantly tries to charm her and kiss her hand, but Raven sees through his attempt to steal her jewelry. She asks if she could possibly audition to sing backup, but he shoots her down because she is “evil.” The Merry Men laugh, and she calls them a bunch of toads. Hopper Croakington II, who was passing by, takes offense to this. After Raven’s long and disappointing day, all she wants to do is run to her room and tell Maddie all that happened. Instead, she finds Apple White moving her things in, and her side of the room redecorated to be evil-looking. Apple begins to explain that she’d asked Headmaster Grimm for the roommate switch, but Raven runs away. ;Chapter 6: Never After Again! Apple is surprised when Raven doesn’t seem grateful. Despite her new roommate’s sullen attitude, Apple stays positive and upbeat. A few days later, Apple and some other students attend Briar’s Book-to-School party in the Royal common room. Melody Piper deejays while Ashlynn Ella coaxes the live songbirds to chirp along. Apple gathers all of the princesses – Ashlynn, Holly O'Hair, Duchess Swan, Darling Charming, and Lizzie Hearts – and Blondie Lockes to form the welcoming committee to Briar’s party. More students from all walks of fairytale arrive. Among them is Madeline Hatter, who has brought a pig to the celebration. Briar misunderstood, thinking she was bringing roast pig. Instead, Madeline pulls a live swine from her hat. He wanders around unnoticed, but flees from Cerise Hood. Last to arrive is Raven Queen, whose accidental windblown entrance is met with nervous silence. Apple and Briar try to snap everyone out of it, telling them to return to the party. Raven turns to leave, but Apple, trying to set an example, latches on to her and takes her around the room, which puts the others more at ease. She presents Raven to Duchess to help Raven mingle. Unfortunately, Duchess is only interested in stirring the pot and the conversation takes a turn for the worse when they take shots at each other’s depressing destinies. When Duchess brings up Raven’s father, Raven gets so angry that she loses control and shoots a wave of magic through the party. The live songbirds are transformed into snakes and fall onto people, causing a riot. Raven leaves immediately and Apple tries to calm everyone down to no avail. After comforting Briar and helping her clean up, she returns to the dorm to find Raven under the covers. She tries to console her too, but Raven just wants to be left alone. ;Chapter 7: The Looming Threat Goodness of Legacy Day At the end of Orientation Week, the second-year students have their Legacy Day rehearsal. Milton Grimm explains the procedure to them. Raven Queen arrives late and watches as Madeline Hatter, Hunter Huntsman, Daring Charming, and Dexter Charming practice declaring their destinies. Dexter is unsure of what to say because he doesn’t know his exact story. Milton informs him that the Storybook of Legends will show him his story when he turns his key on Legacy Day. When it is Raven’s turn to pledge, she hesitates, overwhelmed with dread. She falters during her declaration, but notices no one is really paying attention. She is surprised to see Dexter smiling at her and she gathers the courage to ask a question, like he did. She asks what happens if she doesn’t want to be the Evil Queen, and suddenly everyone is listening. Headmaster Grimm walks up to her to answer privately that pledging is for her own protection. She nods, but fails to finish her pledge, leaving the terrace. Dexter compliments her for speaking up and expresses his own discomfort with having an unknown future. Raven comes up with the idea of sneaking into Headmaster Grimm’s office to see what their stories hold. He declines to go with her because he doesn’t want to break any rules or disappoint King Charming, but he agrees to distract the headmaster for her. Raven thanks him and is pleasantly surprised at his personality, having never spoken to him before now. She heads toward Headmaster Grimm’s office, but is cut off by Helga Crumb and Gus Crumb. She scares them away but decides to try sneaking in another time. Getting that close to the Storybook of Legends makes Raven reminisce about her childhood: living in a divided home, playing with her pet dog Prince, and watching the Evil Queen brew poisons. She hopes that whatever future awaits her isn't exactly like her mother's story. ;Chapter 8: Beware the Glare of That Fair Hair Apple attends the first Damsel-in-distressing class of the year. The lesson for the day is about how to wait patiently in a tower to be rescued, so Madam Maid Marian holds class in the back meadow. The princesses are each teleported to the top of a glass tower, which are doorless and only have one window. Because there are so many new princesses, they must share towers. Luckily, Apple gets paired with Briar Beauty. She wants to talk to her best friend about troubles with Raven Queen, but Madam Maid Marian forbids chitchat, hoping to develop their imaginations. Briar and Apple talk quietly, barely moving their lips. Apple tells her that Headmaster Grimm spoke with her about Raven’s behavior at Legacy Day practice and expressed worry about what she might do next. Apple is afraid that Raven might not pledge at all, and under Headmaster Grimm’s encouragement, she must keep an eye on Raven and find out what she’s planning. In the meadow, Madam Maid Marian receives a message from Dr. King Charming that his Heroics 101 students will be unable to practice rescuing the damsels. She tells her students to escape on their own in as creative a way as possible. Ashlynn Ella calls an eagle to aid her, then commands it to go back and rescue Darling Charming. Duchess Swan changes forms and flies from her tower. Lizzie Hearts climbs down from her tower using Holly’s hair. Apple asks Briar for ideas besides calling for birds, but Briar falls asleep. While asleep however, Briar hears Madam Maid Marian mention to the other students a secret exit in the towers. Apple looks around carefully and triggers the secret exit, and both princesses slide out of their tower. Before heading to their next class, Princessology, Apple gets an idea about how to figure Raven out and stops by the MirrorLab. She asks Humphrey Dumpty if he can help her by hacking into the Mirror Network to allow her to track Raven Queen using her Compact Mirror. He hesitates at first, but she turns on the charm, and he agrees. ;Chapter 9: A Hot Mess of Wolves, Screams, and Pastries A Basketball Game After planning for days, Raven is finally ready to sneak into Headmaster Grimm’s office to see her destiny. After lunch, she heads to Grimmnastics with Madeline and Cedar. Coach Gingerbreadman prepares a game of basketball for them. They divide into teams of royals and commoners out of habit, but Raven plays with the commoners with no objection. The goal of the game is to score as many points as possible by shooting the ball through the hoop while holding a basket full of pastries and keeping the wolves at bay. Players are disqualified when a wolf eats their pastries. Only the Charming brothers, Hunter Huntsman, and Cerise Hood play competently. Needless to say, the game dissolves into a mess that not even Coach Gingerbreadman can follow, though Raven is able to confirm with Dexter that he will invite the Headmaster to fling cabbages with him so Raven can sneak into his office. After class, Raven leaves a trail of caramels for the Crumbs leading away from Headmaster Grimm’s hallway. She tricks Blondie Lockes into unlocking the office door for her and is finally able to access the Storybook of Legends. Once she is alone, she searches the book only to find that her page and Dexter’s are both blank. She flips through the book idly and sees previous pledges, until one entry in particular catches her attention. Bella Sister, a girl destined to be a villain, had the only page that was devoid of a signature. Raven thinks it’s ominous that she’s never heard of Bella’s story, but is excited and determined to find out more about her. ;Chapter 10: The Unsigned Page Using her newly refurbished Compact Mirror for surveillance, Apple is shocked to see Raven trick Blondie into breaking into Milton Grimm’s office. When Raven lingers on an old page of the Storybook of Legends without a signature, she assumes the worst and hurries to tell the headmaster. She checks the faculty lunchroom, but only Baba Yaga is there. Baba Yaga invites her to wait for him, and instigates an uncomfortable conversation with Apple about her story-deviating blondeness. When Headmaster Grimm arrives, Apple asks if they can speak in private, if only to escape Baba Yaga’s glares. They go to his office and Apple shares her worry that Raven is considering not signing the Book on Legacy Day. Milton confirms that he already suspected as much, which puts him in a difficult position. Apple is sympathetic and reassures him that she will do everything she can to keep Raven on the right path. She is encouraged by the headmaster’s faith in her and believes that he, at least, sees her potential beyond her beauty. Apple has renewed energy to convince Raven to complete their shared story, and she reminisces about the night she fell into a well. She was a child and she’d almost drowned, yet she’d decided then that any foreseeable fate was better than the scary unknowns of the real world. ;Chapter 11: A Hero Villain in Every Story TBA ;Chapter 12: Maddie Bothers Chats with the Narrator Again TBA ;Chapter 13: Darkness Scampering TBA ;Chapter 14: Her Very Name Could Cause an Earthquake TBA ;Chapter 15: Almost Through the Wall of Briars TBA ;Chapter 16: A Massive Snooze Fest Slumber Party TBA ;Chapter 17: Cute Biting and Cuddly Slithering Things TBA ;Chapter 18: Plump Red Apple White TBA ;Chapter 19: Maddie Pesters Chats with the Narrator Yet Again TBA ;Chapter 20: Red Paint Warning on the Wall TBA ;Chapter 21: A Noticing Game TBA ;Chapter 22: The Undiscovered Vault of Lost Tales TBA ;Chapter 23: The Horrible Beautiful Power of Evil TBA ;Chapter 24: Born to Wear It TBA ;Chapter 25: Going Off Script TBA ;Chapter 26: Treading Water in a Well TBA ;Chapter 27: Not Your Momma's Fairytale TBA ;Chapter 28: Maddie Annoys Chats with the Narrator One Last Time TBA ;Chapter 29: Rewrite, Ignite, Restart! TBA Characters Notes Other * The Storybook of Legends mentions many supporting characters who may appear only once, or may not technically appear at all. Among them are: Fairy godmother - The fairy godmother of future Cinderella; Ooglot and Yop - servants of the Queen family; Cook - servant of the Queen family; Butternut and Pie - Cook's twin sons; Snoozy, Snappy, Frank, and Phil - dwarf servants of the White family; Shoemaker's Elves - castleteria sandwich makers; Category:Books